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Sometimes I sign my e-mails with
"Happie" Frank. I hear you thinking "isn't it
supposed to be happy?" Well, actually it's a kind of
play with words to express that I'm happy with Malawi Haps (Haplochromid
cichlids). This time I want to talk about my newest
cichlids: Fossorochromis rostratus. I had a large
group last year, but after a disastrous disease I lost all
of them, except for one female. Last month I got the chance
to buy 7 new adult Fossorochromis rostratus at a very
reasonable price. Now all eight Fossies swim in my
redecorated 1000L aquarium. It's a pleasure to see these
sanddwellers digging in the sand. By the way, all three MCH
authors (George, Francesco and me) keep these beauties.
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Fossorochromis rostratus dominant male close up.
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With a total adult length of 30cm, Fossorochromis
rostratus is, together with Taeniolethrinops
praeorbitalis, one of the largest sanddwelling cichlids that
feed on invertebrates. In the local language they are called
Chimbenje what means sly person. They got this name because
they dive under the sand when they are threatened by local
fishing nets. Originally they developed this strategy to
escape from the hungry mouths of the predators when they're
in the juvenile stage and still too small to swim safe above
the sand. They don't forget this technique when they grow
up, so it's a very impressive sight too see them disappear
under the sand in an attempt to escape from the net in the
LFS. Of course you shouldn't try this at home because it's
very stressing for the fish.
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The dominant male cruising through the tank
The same male rapidly eating the small sinking food
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this carnivore (NOT piscivore) fish consists of shrimp,
artemia, krill and other invertebrates. This closely
resembles the diet that Fossorochromis rostratus
lives on in Lake Malawi. In nature these cichlids feed on invertebrates
that live in the sand and that are reached by digging deep.
This behavior can also be observed in the aquarium: the fish
suddenly stops, tilts over a bit and dives almost up to the
eyes in the sand. This large portion of sand is sifted. The
small sand passes through the gills and all edible stuff is
swallowed. The larger gravel is spitted out, sometimes to
the horror of my Copadichromis azureus. This Utaka keeps his
nest clean from all large gravel and when a Fossorochromis
rostratus passes while spitting out the gravel, he can
start all over again cleaning his nest. |
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Left and right and below: Fossorochromis rostratus
shoveling the sand for food
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Breeding isn't
observed yet, but this can't take long anymore. With 7 males
in the neighborhood the only female won't get a chance for
escaping from her breeding duties. In nature the Fossorochromis
rostratus male builds a 2.5m crater nest that's defended
against his concurrent. Females that are ready to mate are
lured into this nest that's thoroughly cleaned from larger
egg-confusing gravel. After a few turns the female starts to
shake vigorously and drops some eggs that immediately are
taken into the mouth. The male also starts to shake and
releases sperm that's also taken into the mouth by the
female. This way the eggs get fertilized. This procedure is
repeated until all eggs are laid. A few days later the eggs
hatch and after about 21 days the fry is ready to get their
first swim outside the mouth, so they will be released in a
safe place. When the young fish are threatened they're taken
back into the mouth. This care for the fry will take up to
three weeks after the first release. From then on, the
juveniles have to take care for their selves.
In a normal aquarium that rarely exceeds 70 cm in
depth, the dominant male Fossorochromis rostratus of
course can't build a 2.5m nest. The 300cm x 120cm of my
future aquarium won't be enough either. This is the reason
why this cichlid is such a brutal lover in captivity: all
the other cichlids are simply IN his nest. What's worse, the
female can't escape from the exited male and sometimes gets
injured.
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This blurry
picture shows 4 Fossorochromis rostratus hiding
behind the rocks.
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Good aquascaping is essential to get the
best out of these fish, what means enough sand and large
hiding places. In front a Placidochromis
phenochilus swimming by
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Photos
and text by Frank Panis.
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